After capturing Fort Harrison on September 29, men of the 18th Corps concentrated on enlarging the break they had created in the Confederate defenses. Corps commander General E.O.C. Ord fell wounded as some units pushed south toward Fort Hoke. Others assaulted forts Johnson, Gregg, and Gilmer to the north. Confederate defenses stiffened. The attacks failed to capitalize on their earlier success. Southern infantrymen began construction of a new line, west of Fort Harrison, that would plug the gap in their defenses and block the direct route to Richmond.
The wall of Confederate Fort Harrison ended immediately to the left of here. Union soldiers enclosed the fort in October, changed its name to Fort Burnham in honor of General Hiram Burnham, and settled in for the winter.
Taken from atop the nearby traverse, this image features the wall built by the Federals to enclose Fort Burnham. Note the sandbag firing positions-this was a temporary solution before the fort wall was built up to its present height. The open ground in the distance separates the two armies. Recently constructed Confederate Fort Beauregard looms on the distant horizon.
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